Brian Smith

Brian is a co-founder of Bluestem Brands, Inc. and has been an Executive Chairman since 2008. Before that, he served as the Chief Executive Officer from February 2004 to December 10, 2012 and has been a member of management at Bluestem Brands since 2002.

He has 24 years of management experience with retail and financial services businesses, both commerce and banking related.

Prior to Bluestem Brands, Brian spent two years leading Lenders Trust. With his background in building profitable, growing businesses, Brian has expertise in raising debt and equity capital, hiring and developing executive management teams, managing rapid growth and creating high-performing organizations.

Brian also serves or has served on the board of directors for various companies, including Minntex, SquareTrade and Venminder. He received a B.A. degree from St. Olaf College and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota.